Category Archives: Short Stories

Writing Begets Writing

11 Friday Jul 2014

Posted by in creativity, Mental Health, Short Stories, teaching, workshops, writing

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I’ve recently been involved with the wonderful Hearth organisation. Founded by Polly Wright, the artistic director, Hearth aims to use the arts to animate key issues in mental health, social care and the humanities, and to promote well-being. I’ve been enlisted, as part of the Writing Begets Writing initiative, to deliver a creative writing workshop in a mental health setting. I’ll be working alongside a mental health practitioner who will continue the work that I start, promoting creative writing as practice to promote well-being and who will encourage the service users to submit work to a short story anthology.

workshop

Fellow writers (left-right) Eugene Egan, Andy Cashmore and Vim Ayadurai

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m really looking forward to working in this field as a writer. I have some experience of working with people who need mental health support but this will be the first time I’ve worked in this setting as a writer. The feedback from mental health service users regarding the benefits of creative writing were incredible.

You can find out more about this project and Hearth here.

Unthology 5: Out Now!

03 Thursday Jul 2014

Posted by in Anthology, Short Stories, Unthology 5

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Wow, it seems like I’ve been waiting forever, but at last, Unthology 5 is out.

Fourteen very different, but equally compelling, tales wrapped up in a gorgeous Unthology cover and just waiting to be read.

I’m not about to go on about how good all the stories are -but they are damn good- because that’d feel a bit vain as my story Kowalski is in amongst them. However, what I will do is point you in the direction of a rather fine review that does all that for me…

You can read this review in its original setting here.

Unthology 5 edited by Ashley Stokes and Robin Jones

Review by The Mole

The long awaited Unthology 5 is finally here. And I mean that… Maryom has been regularly pestered by me when on Twitter – “Anything on Unthology yet?” and finally it’s here and it was well worth the wait. I read and reviewed Unthology 4 and if you want to know what I thought about it then turn Unthology 5 over and read the back! (or read ithere)

With 14 stories that start with an abduction and finish with the end of the world this collection is everything the last one was except… it has one more story crammed in. A Little More Prayer will horrify you and have you rooting for the victim, Daddy’s Little Secret will leave you wondering what is going on in “Daddy’s” head, A Writer Tries To Work It Outwill have you hoping for true love and so it goes on – each story touching you in some way and leaving you thinking about the “rest” of the story. That’s one of the things I love about short stories – the way they tell you so little but so much and you can finish them for yourself.

In Clarrie and You you will be frustrated by secrets kept instead of honesty shared, but it’s something you will have seen and maybe have been complicit in. In Kowalski you meet prejudice and racism in a most convincing and abhorrent way. And The Coroner’s Report… ’nuff said but you will not be unmoved. And the crowning glory has to be The End of the World which will have you saying “What??? Wake UP and SMELL the coffee!” while laughing at the premise and people’s ability to be stupid.

Another brilliant collection compiled by Ashley Stokes and Robin Jones that will add a seriously new dimension to commuting or coffee time.

Publisher – Unthank Books
Genre – Adult short story anthology

Lost Districts: Text and Image.

27 Friday Jun 2014

Posted by in Art, competitions, creativity, prize money, Short Stories

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Hey, there’s a mighty cool project kicking off in Birmingham City called Lost Districts.

IMG_5349Lost Districts are looking to link the dark, moving, writing of the sadly departed Joel Lane with stunning images from photographers and artists.

At the moment they’re gathering extracts of text from Joel’s work, which was predominately set in the West Midlands, getting ready to draw up a list of ten sites that they want images for. The project will take place over the ten days of the Birmingham Literature Festival. Each day a winning image will be chosen and from those ten images an overall winner will receive £100.

So if you’re a budding artist, or a demon with a lens, get over to their site and read on for more details here.

If you’re unfamiliar with Joel’s work you should change that a.s.a.p. This quote from Chaz Brenchley, author of Shelter, Blood Waters, The Garden and other critically acclaimed works of crime fiction, should help:

“Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s out there somewhere. Waiting, maybe. Mixing fear with desire, reputation with regret. Touching the blood-beat of our secret hunger with the rhythms of a music that never felt alien till now. Wasted lives, with never a wasted word. It’s an extraordinary achievement: vivid as neon, real as rain. Devastating.”

 

Tweeted Objects

20 Thursday Feb 2014

Posted by in creativity, Short Stories, Think Tank, workshops, writing

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A huge thanks to all the staff and kids who were at the Tweeted Objects workshop on Tuesday. I was made to feel really welcome and was allowed to wander through the stored items in the warehouse, which has to be seen to be believed. Extra thanks to Lynsey for organising it all and for introducing me to Story Cubes. Here are some pics of the day.

Kipper ties!

Kipper ties!

Happy scribbler.

Happy scribbler.

The cabbage hat.

The cabbage hat.

Inside the vaults.

Inside the vaults.

The kids produced some great tweeted fiction and managed to tell some marvellous stories in 140 characters or less. Tales of cabbage hats, of cats trapped in boxes and the bejewelled wonder of a jealous prince…

Check out the exhibition in May to see their work and to tweet your own. I’ll post full details nearer the time.

Seven Minute Stories

13 Wednesday Nov 2013

Posted by in comissions, Event, New Birmingham Library, Reading, Short Stories, writing

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Ooh lookee here:

An event you may be interested in…

2013 Short Story Showcase

Building on the success of their 2012 project Seven Minute Stories, The West Midlands Readers’ Network is once again commissioning regional writers to create short stories in collaboration with readers’ groups. In 2013, six writers will work with groups in locations around the West Midlands. The writers are: Gaynor Arnold, Garrie Fletcher, Ian MacLeod, AL Pietroni, Rochi Rampal and Amanda Smyth. Each writer has been given a few key narrative ingredients by their group and been asked to throw in some magic of their own in order to conjure up a memorable new story. Join us as these stories and their writers come together in a special anthology and showcase event.

Attendees will be able to pick up a free anthology.

The event will take place at 7pm on Monday 2 December 2013, at the Library of Birmingham.

This event is free to attend but booking is essential. To book please call 0121 245 4455 or click here.

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Seven Minute Stories

29 Tuesday Oct 2013

Posted by in Anthology, comissions, Event, New Birmingham Library, News, Reading, Short Stories, writing

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New Library garden. Don't worry we'll be in the warm.

New Library garden. Don’t worry we’ll be in the warm.

Oo, look, I’m in this:

Building on the success of their 2012 project Seven Minute Stories, The West Midlands Readers’ Network is once again commissioning regional writers to create short stories in collaboration with readers’ groups. In 2013, six writers will work with groups in locations around the West Midlands. The writers are: Gaynor Arnold, Garrie Fletcher, Ian MacLeod, AL Pietroni, Rochi Rampal and Amanda Smyth. Each writer has been given a few key narrative ingredients by their group and been asked to throw in some magic of their own in order to conjure up a memorable new story. Join us as these stories and their writers come together in a special anthology and showcase event.

All guests will receive a free limited edition copy of the anthology at the event.

Presented in partnership with the West Midlands Readers’ Network. Chaired by Roz Goddard, Co-ordinator of West Midlands Readers’ Network.

It’d be great to see you there, tickets are free and you could combine it with some Christmas shopping at the German Market in the city. Also, for those of you in fear of dehydration there is a bar!

You can book tickets here.

You can find out more about the West Midlands Reader’s Network here.

Night Swimming

18 Friday Oct 2013

Posted by in comissions, News, Short Stories, Writers Group, writing

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This summer (2013) I was commission by the West Midlands Readers Network to write a short story for a library book group. It turned out that the book group in Coleshill Library were not interested but that the writers group that was also based there was.

I went over in late July and met the group. They were a friendly bunch who made me very welcome. I talked a little bit about the type of things I write and they told me about the stories that they were interested in; it was quite a range. We had crime stories, historical fiction, satire, science fiction, comedy and so on. I made lots of notes.

It would be impossible, in the time I had and the amount of words available (2000,) to write something that covered everything they wanted. As it was I wrote two stories, both set in Coleshill. I couldn’t decide which was the story for them, which was the story that would best please them and cover some of what they asked for. In the end I asked Roz. Roz Goddard is a fine poet, short story writer and she runs the West Midlands Readers Network; her advice was bang on. She said use the best one.

I knew which was the best story I was just worried it wasn’t right for the group.

I visited the Coleshill Writers Group last Monday and read them the story. They liked it and had some excellent questions for me afterwards. If you’re near Coleshill and are interested in writing you should get down there.

If you’d also like to hear my story entitled Night Swimming, then come join me and a whole host of others at the New Birmingham Library on Monday the 2nd of December, it’ll be great.